FY 2012 Funding Alert

FY 2012 Funding Alert

Government agencies currently funded by a continuing
resolution are being instructed by the White House to begin reviewing
shutdown plans. The current CR expires at midnight on Friday. If Congress
has not completed work on the remaining appropriations bills, or passed
another CR, there could be a partial government shutdown.

NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley this afternoon discussed
the steps agencies were taking with Jeffrey Zients, Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Deputy Director for Management, and John Berry,
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director.

Shutdown Terms Who Works?

Formerly referred to as “essential” and
“non-essential”, agencies are now using the term “excepted” to describe
employees who are required to work during a shutdown. “Excepted”
employees are described as “employees who are excepted from a furlough
by law because they are (1) performing emergency work involving the
safety of human life or the protection of property, (2) involved in the
orderly suspension of agency operations, or (3) performing other
functions exempted from the furlough.” All other employees paid by
appropriated funds will be deemed as “non-excepted” and furloughed
during the duration of a government shutdown.

Agencies with FY 2012 funding legislation in place that
will not face a government shutdown are: Department of
Transportation, HUD, Agriculture, National Science Foundation, NASA,
Department of Justice, Commerce, FDA, and CFTC. Agencies funded with
non-appropriated funds: FDIC, NCUA and the Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency will continue to operate.

The remaining government agencies will begin contacting
employees today and plan to provide informal determinations of excepted or
non-excepted employees by Friday with formal notice no later than Monday.
If the government shuts down on Friday at midnight, non-excepted employees
will report to work on their next scheduled day—Saturday or Monday—to begin
orderly shutdown procedures. If possible, those activities can be conducted
remotely.

Berry and Zients said President Obama does not want a
government shutdown and they acknowledged that the uncertainty over funding
puts employees in a very difficult spot.

The situation on Capitol Hill remains very fluid and a
government shutdown is not certain. The administration believes that
Congress still has time to resolve its unfinished business and pass
legislation that will fund the government for the remainder of the current
fiscal year. As we come closer to the deadline under the current CR,
agencies are scheduled to send employees additional information and so will
NTEU.

This is similar to the situation we faced in April, and should a partial
government shutdown occur, employees have many questions including:

whether or not they will be required to work;

when, how, and if they will be paid; and

how long a shutdown might last.

President Kelley specifically asked the administration
officials about employees who are out on ‘use or lose’ leave and OPM
promised guidance on that issue very shortly. NTEU is committed to working
with impacted agencies where the union represents workers to get that
information to employees. Additionally, OPM says it will be updating
shutdown information on its website.

NTEU will continue to closely monitor congressional action
and stay in touch with the administration and agency heads.